Shadowlands
by Anarea Rose
Summary: First Fanfic. Luke and Elizabeth found true love in each other and then follow the path that waits before them and one will experience suprising joy in the face of tragedy. Based on the romance of C.S. Lewis and his wife, Joy. PLEASE R&R.
1. Prolouge

_Disclaimer: This is a story based off of the romance of C.S. Lewis and his wife. Anything having to do with C.S. Lewis does not belong to me._

_I'm not sure if this is considered original fiction or not. It had something to do with C.S. Lewis so I considered it fan fiction. I hope ya'll enjoy it!_

Shadowlands

By

_Anarea Rose_

Prologue

It was a beautiful morning in Providence, Rhode Island. The sun had already promised that it was going to be a perfect day. However, most people were already too busy to notice. They hurried from their houses, in too much of a rush to even think about breakfast. Those who did think about it promised themselves that they would make a quick stop at the bagel shop and grab something, and then promptly forgot about it. Kids rushed to get ready for school and their parents rushed to get ready for work. People ran to their cars, already complaining that they were late. There didn't seem to be any one who was taking their time and not worrying about whether the lights were going to be red the whole way to work or how their kids were going to get home. However, that was not the case. On the far edge of town, in a secluded house next to the ocean, one girl was taking Mother Nature's hint to get out and enjoy the beauty of the day. Elizabeth Kapta sat on a chair along the beach, reading one of the many books written by her favorite author, C.S. Lewis. At the sound of approaching footsteps, Elizabeth paused long enough to glance up and see who it was. Seeing the form of Mrs. Hays, her housekeeper, coming toward her, Elizabeth placed a bookmark in _Reflections of the Psalms_, in her opinion, one of the best books C.S. Lewis ever wrote, and bestowed a warm smile on her housekeeper.

"Good morning, Elizabeth."

"Good morning, Mrs. Hays", Elizabeth replied.

"What are you doing out here?"

"I've come to remind you that you have a doctors appointment a 9:30."

Elizabeth groaned. Of all the days to go to the doctor's! It was so beautiful outside, who would want to go to the doctors on a day like this?

"All right, Mrs. Hays, I'll be in shortly."

As Mrs. Hays headed back to the house, Elizabeth sighed.

_Oh well, maybe I can finish my book while I wait at the doctors office..._

Luke Sarin looked up as Marie, his co-worker, slapped a small stack of papers on his already overloaded desk.

"Boss wants these stories finished before you leave this afternoon."

Turning on her heels she went back to her desk, unaware that Luke almost threw the stack back at her. Luke growled in anger. Didn't he have enough to do without the boss giving him more work? Maybe he should have thought twice before he decided to become a newspaper reporter. Grabbing his bag he walked out of his office. He had to get out of this place before he stripped a gear.

"Where do you think you're going?" Marie called after him

"I'll be back after a while," Luke replied over his shoulder.

_To Be Continued..._

_Well did you like it? Don't stop you still have to read the first chapter!_


	2. The Wardrobe

_Well here it is, chapter 1! YEA! I hope that I will have you hooked on this story by the end of the chapter! Enjoy!_

Chapter 1

The Wardrobe

Luke walked around downtown, not even aware of where his feet were taking him. When he looked up he found himself in an unfamiliar part of town. He looked around, trying to find a familiar landmark that would lead him back to the office. When he couldn't, he decided to ask directions. Just down the block he saw a coffee shop. He headed that way, but as he got closer, something caught his eye. Across the street was a tiny shop. The sign above it said _The Wardrobe._ Something about the place seemed to draw Luke toward it. He crossed the street and walked toward the door. A phrase was painted on it. It said _The Magic Never Ends._ Luke's curiosity got the better of him.

_I'll ask for directions here. Then I can see what this place is all about, _Luke said to himself.

As he opened the door, the small bell above it rang cheerily. He looked around the place. All around the outer edges of the room were bookcases, filled to overflowing with books. In the center of the room, there were displays mounted on tables. As Luke got closer to the first display, he saw that the scene it showed was of a girl talking to a man who appeared to be half-man and half-goat.

_Well, that's strange_ Luke thought as he turned to the next display. It showed the same girl with three other children, one girl and three boys, (_must be a family)_ eating what appeared to be lunch with a couple of beavers.

_This just keeps getting weirder…_before Luke could finish that thought he stopped and stared opened mouth at the last display. It showed the two girls playing around with a large lion.

_What kind of psychopath would write stories like these? _Luke wondered

"Is there something I can help you with?" a kind voice asked.

Luke nearly jumped out of his skin. Standing beside him was an elderly man. He was of average height, slightly balding, with grayish-white hair and blue eyes that sparkled when he smiled.

"Um, I was wondering if you could give me directions to _The Harbor Tide_

newspaper office." Luke stammered.

" Of course. I'll write it down for you."

" Thank you," Luke replied.

As the man walked to the counter on the far side of the room, Luke decided to see if he could find out more about this queer shop with the crazy displays.

" What is this place?" Luke asked the man.

" Didn't you see the sign when you came in?" the man replied.

"Yes, but what exactly do you sell?"

"I only sell books that are written by or about C.S. Lewis," he replied.

"What about those displays?" Luke asked.

"Oh, those are scenes from _The Chronicles of Narnia,_ Lewis' most popular books. They were written especially for children."

_I wonder if he's actually read those crazy stories_

"What book are they from?"

"The first book that Lewis wrote for the series,_ The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe,_ hence the name of this store," the old man said.

"Did Lewis only write books for children?"

"Oh my, no. Lewis wrote countless books on the Christian faith."

When Luke rolled his eyes the man said, "I take it you don't share his beliefs?"

"Actually, I do. It's just that I know so many writers that only write about the Christian faith, and nothing else. Most of them didn't even get married."

"Well, you may find that C.S. Lewis has many things about him that you don't know about."

"Yeah, right."

The old man looked at Luke for a long moment. Then, he turned and went to the far corner of the room. He pulled a book off of a shelf and reached over to the little table beside it and picked up something else. He walked back over to were Luke was standing and handed them to him.

"Here, take these."

Luke looked at what the man handed him. It was a book and a video. The book was titled _A Journey Through the Shadowlands: The story of C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham. _The video was titled _Shadowlands. _Luke looked at the man.

"What's this?"

"It's one of the many things you don't know about C.S. Lewis. I want to read that book and watch the video."

"Why should I?"

"You might find that his life is not that of the many Christian writers, who as you say don't write about anything else and don't get married."

Luke smiled at the old man's attempt at sarcasm.

"All right, I'll do it for you."

"No, you do it for you."

"How much?"

"Nothing, no charge. Just bring them back when you finish them. Oh, by the way here are your directions."

"Thanks," Luke headed for the door, then stopped and looked back at the man

" What did you say your name was?"

"Jack."

"Well, thanks, Jack."

Luke walked out of the shop and headed back to his office.

_Well, have I hooked you you yet? Tell me what you think. Reviews are very helpful! Chapter 2 coming soon!_


	3. Article of Fate

Chapter 2

An Article of Fate

Mrs. Hays looked up as Elizabeth walked into the kitchen.

"Hello, Elizabeth. How was your doctor's appointment?"

"It was a doctor's appointment, how do you think it went?"

"That bad?"

"Not really, I just get the feeling that doctors actually enjoy watching me faint when they have to take blood."

Mrs. Hays laughed.

"Oh dear, you didn't hurt yourself did you?"

"No, I just got to lie down for half an hour before the doctor would let me go."

"Would you like me to make you some tea?" Mrs. Hays asked.

"No thank you. I'm going to go upstairs and finish my book."

"Okay, dear, just call me if you need me."

"I will."

Marie looked up as Luke walked in, refreshed from his excursion about town.

"Where have you been? The boss was here looking for you."

"I was just on a walk. What did you tell him?"

"I told him you had to go home and get something."

"Thanks for covering for me."

"Don't thank me just yet. I never said the boss left. He's in your office waiting for you."

"Great, just what I need right now. More nagging from the boss."

"No one ever said that being a reporter was a fun job." Marie said.

"You can say that again." Luke replied.

David Sims looked from one of Luke's many unfinished articles he had been reading as Luke walked into the office.

"Morning Mr. Sims."

"Good morning Luke."

"How are you?" Luke asked politely.

"All right, cut the formalities. I didn't come here to make small talk."

"Well, forgive me if I sound rude, but what are you here for?"

"The newspaper has decided to do a special about different writers who were friends."

"Oh, really." Luke tried to sound excited, but it was obvious that he wasn't.

Mr. Sims didn't notice, or if he did, he didn't say anything.

"Yes, it's really fascinating about how writers were influenced by other writers, and that some of their writing qualities rubbed of on one another."

"This is all really great, but what does it have to do with me?"

"I've decided that you are going to do the first article."

"Sir, I'm flattered," Luke stammered, "but as you can see I really have more to do than I can handle right now."

Mr. Sims smiled.

"I figured you might say that. That's why I've assigned all of the articles you currently have to other reporters."

"Oh, well I guess that means I have plenty of time to do this article." Luke replied, realizing that there was no way he can get out of this one.

"Excellent. I've but what your assignment is going to be, and the best places to get information on your subject in this folder. Try not to lose it among all of your other junk on this desk. I expect this article to be on my desk by the end of the week. Have a nice day Luke."

Mr. Sims picked up Luke's articles and left the room. Luke heard him tell Marie to distribute Luke's former articles to other reporters. Luke sat in his chair staring out the window for a long moment, and then sighing, he picked up the folder and looked inside.

"NO WAY! This isn't possible!" Luke dropped the folder and pressed his hand to his forehead in disbelief.

His subject: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

The article was finished in two days. Luke really wished Mr. Sims had picked someone else, but he got such an enthusiastic response that he forgot that he didn't want to do it in the first place. The article was an immediate hit with the public, especially a brown-haired, hazel-eyed girl whose favorite author was C.S. Lewis.

_Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to update.I was hoping to get more reviewers. If you do read, please review. Even if you don't like it.Oh well. Anyway on to thethank yous:_

_Healing Hands: Thanks so much. I'm glad you like it so far. Hope you enjoyed this chapter._

_I should have a new chapter up in a few days. Until next time_

_Love Always_

_Anarea Rose_


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